TV star George Irving has revealed he had to disguise his Geordie accent when he started out.

George is known to TV fans across the country as heart surgeon Anton Meyer in Holby City, Detective Inspector Ken Jackson in Dangerfield and Sir William Kingston in The Tudors.

But the 59-year-old said he disguised his accent when he first started out in showbiz.

George, currently in the middle of final rehearsals for Live Theatre’s new play, Tyne, said: “A lot of the cast have been saying, ‘How come we don’t know you as a Geordie actor?’

“In the 60s, when my generation were deciding they wanted to do this job, you didn’t tell anybody.

“The idea a Geordie could become an actor was ridiculous.

“So, rather than becoming known as a Geordie actor, I became known as an actor who could do a really good Geordie accent, amongst other things.”

George was brought up in South Shields until leaving for university in 1970. Although he returned to the North after graduating, and spent a year with the Tyneside Theatre Company in Newcastle, George has lived in London ever since with his director wife Jan Sargent.

“I’ve got a lot of family in Shields,” he said. “Both of my parents were from big families so I’ve got lots of cousins.”